The FBI says a driver rammed a vehicle into the front gate of its Atlanta headquarters in Chamblee, Ga., on Monday, but his motives were not immediately known. (Screen capture from video)
ATLANTA (Tribune News Service) — Officials have identified a man accused of trying to breach the gate at the FBI’s Atlanta headquarters Monday as 48-year-old Ervin Lee Bolling of South Carolina.
FBI investigators have not shared any suspected motive for the driver of the orange Buick Encore that rammed into a wedge barrier just inside the facility’s gate, and Bolling has not made his first court appearance. A bomb specialist searched the car before it was towed away, but the FBI has not said if any explosives or other weapons were found.
According to an FBI spokesman, Bolling was arrested by DeKalb County police after being detained by special agents at the scene. However, there is no record of Bolling being booked into the DeKalb jail. A police spokeswoman said her agency was coordinating with federal officials as they work to secure warrants on state charges.
While FBI officials would not share information about security protocols, spokesman Tony Thomas said it was business as usual at the Chamblee facility Tuesday.
“Today is a normal day,” Thomas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Publicly available records show that Bolling lives in Easley, S.C., a town just outside Greenville. He works as an insurance broker at Bankers Life, where he has been employed since 2018. His office phone went unanswered Tuesday morning.
Bolling is a U.S. Navy veteran who served as an enlisted submarine warfare specialist for more than 20 years, according to military records. Between 1993 and 2017, he served on four submarines: USS Columbia, USS Albany, USS North Carolina and USS Alaska. Bolling received several medals for good conduct and service in the global war on terrorism. Following his first submarine stint, records indicate Bolling took a break from military service between July 1997 and April 1998.
According to the Bankers Life website, Bolling is married with three daughters. His Facebook page is mostly private, but he has publicly posted videos critical of President Joe Biden. In 2021, he set his profile photo to a comic criticizing the public safety measures meant to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bolling has no criminal history beyond a few speeding tickets, public records show.
Staff writers Jeremy Redmon, Alexis Stevens and David Aaro contributed to this report.
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